Zoya Akhtar Interview | 'If the audience wants new talent and stories, they should also go and support them in theatres'

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's next production - Superboys of Malegaon - is an underdog tale of the Malegaon film industry. Yet, the filmmaker and her partners - Amazon MGM Studios - have punted on a wide theatrical release for the film instead of going the 'safer' streaming-first route. In a conversation with HT, Zoya talks about Superboys of Malegaon and how audiences can help smaller films succeed in theatres. (Also read: Priyanka Chopra on OTT vs theatres: The magic of movie theatres will never fade)

On small films' theatrical aspirations?

When asked how a small film like Superboys of Malegaon can succeed in theatres, Zoya simply responds, "The audiences want to see new talent and different stories. At least, that's what they keep saying on social media. Then they should also go out and endorse that. When they support it, more of it will happen."

Zoya agrees that India has a large film-watching population. Yet, why are they not going to the theatres en masse? She replies, "This happens because people can't afford to go to the cinema for everything, and then they choose what they want to go to for. That's not something we are doing. There is a larger force, an ecosystem at work there. As a film-watching population, we enjoy going to the theatre. It's a community experience."

Will OTT kill theatres?

The filmmaker adds that the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns still persist. "We are coming out of COVID, the whole pandemic and the lull it caused. There was a shift in that time to watching streaming. It will take its time to settle," she adds.

However, she does not believe those busy writing theatrical cinema's obituaries. Zoya argues, "When TV came, people said cinema is dying; when satellite came, people said cinema is dead. Now streaming has come, and people say cinema is dead. Cinema is not going anywhere. There is nothing to compete with. They will all co-exist. You cannot interchange these experiences."

About Superboys of Malegaon

Directed by Reema Kagti, Superboys of Malegaon is based on the life Nasir Shaikh and other amateur filmmakers in Malegaon. It stars Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora, Anuj Singh Duhan, and Riddhi Kumar. Superboys of Malegaon, produced by Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Ritesh Sidhwani, premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It will have its worldwide theatrical release on February 28.